The Gray years
by Silverlight Neko
Summary: Daisuke is old now, married to Riku, and a grandfather now to two little children, but something's just not right. Why does he still look like he's twenty? And why is Dark still there? Rating may go up...Pairings shall be discovered later!
1. Chapter 1

Daisuke blinked, yawning lightly. He was seated in a comfortable sofa chair by the living room

window, golden afternoon sunlight streaming down on to his flaming red hair. Yes, after all these long

years, Daisuke's flaming red hair had still not lost its vibrant hue. The red head shifted back slightly in

his chair, arranging the newspaper he held neatly before him. He listened to the sounds of his beloved

wife, Riku, humming in the kitchen as she prepared their oldest daughter's birthday dinner. Daisuke's

adult daughter, Miyu, was having her thirty- fifth birthday today, which was December 23. Daisuke

himself was sixty- three years old, looking no older then the day that he was married to Riku, forty

three years ago. He sprang up lightly from his seat, making his way smoothly to the kitchen in the next

room, not a single tremor in his movements to betray his age. He moved up to Riku, wrapping his

arms around her waist. She gasped slightly in shock,

"Hey there." He whispered in her ear.

"Dai- chan." Riku, turned around, smiling slightly, 'You know I have to prepare Miyu's dinner." She

glanced up at the clock. "They're going to be here in about half an hour." She gently moved past

Daisuke, to the stove where she began stirring various steaming and simmering dishes. Daisuke's face

fell for a second. _"She's been treating me differently…"_ Daisuke thought, studying her back

thoughtfully. In recent months, she had begun to seem more distant to Daisuke, seeming to prefer her

own activities as opposed to spending time with Daisuke. The red head frowned slightly; he wasn't

entirely sure what was going on.

"Anything I can help with?"

"Ummm, could you set the table?" Riku asked, without looking up.

"'Kay!" Daisuke leaped to the job, flipping a cabinet door open and loading his arms full of dishes.

His humming joined Riku's, and for a while, an amiable silence filled the house, Daisuke setting the

table for a party of seven, Riku cooking in the kitchen. Miyu had her own family now, her husband

Toshi, who was thirty four and her two sons', Takashi and Fujitaka. Each was five and three

respectively. The last of the party was Daisuke's thirty year old single son, Tori, recently having

broken up with his umpteen billionth girlfriend. Daisuke sighed as he carefully arranged the delicate

cutlery they would be using for the dinner tonight. He and Riku were worried that Tori would never

settle down. Ever. Not that they missed having grandchildren, Miyu had solved the issue for them

already. But Tori was very play boyish in nature. He was always after the girls, and the girls were

always after him. Daisuke had to admit, he and Riku had turned out one good looking child, but that

still didn't help Tori in getting a wife. Daisuke smirked slightly at the thought, setting down the last

piece of shining cutlery on the table. He stepped back, surveying his handy work. Grinning he made

his way back to the kitchen.

"Play boyish, just like Dark." Daisuke said, muttering to himself. _"Speaking of Dark…"_ Daisuke

probed his mind, poking around to try and find the purple haired kaitou. Dark had gotten very quiet

these days, and Daisuke didn't know why.

"_Dark?"_ No answer. Daisuke tried again, still receiving no answer. On the third try, Daisuke gave

up, making his way towards the kitchen. There were two mysteries that Daisuke had in his life, newly

come with absolutely no answer to them or any clues what so ever. First was, how the heck did

Daisuke manage to stay looking so young. The sixty- three year glanced at himself has he passed the

hallway mirror. _"Still looking like you're twenty eh?"_ Daisuke thought to himself. The other was

why was Dark still here? As far as Daisuke knew, the thief should have disappeared from Daisuke's

mind years ago. Daiki, Daisuke's late grandfather, lost his connection with Dark when Daiki had

turned twenty. And not only, that, Daisuke had himself a _son_. It wasn't that Daisuke had had only

daughters and that Dark, facing the prospect of lying dormant for years inside a Niwa female's DNA

had decided to stick around in Daisuke until a boy was born in a later generation of Niwa's in order

combat extreme boredom. Not only did Daisuke have a son, but he also had _two_ grandsons. There

were plenty of males bouncing around to keep Dark thieving. So why hadn't Dark magically

disappeared from within Daisuke? Why was he still around? Not that it wasn't nice to still have Dark

around. Daisuke and Dark still went out once or twice a week flying, so that Dark could stretch his

wings. Though that had been occurring less and less often as of recent. Dark just hadn't been talking

to Daisuke lately. _"I hope he's not mad at me…"_ As Daisuke reached the kitchen, the door bell

rang. He paused in mid stride. Riku glanced up at him.

"I think it's them." She said before returning to rolling huge rolls of sushi. Daisuke's eyebrows rose at

her rather curt remark. His mouth opened slightly, staring at her back, before turning around to get

the door. _"Is she mad at me too? Why is everyone mad at me? Next thing I know, my_

_ grandchildren will be glaring daggers at me."_ He reached the door, opening, just in time to be

greeted by a huge rush as Miyu and her two children pounced down on top of him.

"Otou-san!" She shrieked happily. She looked at him, grinning. "Still looking as young as ever I see."

She grinned again, giving him a giant hug. Meanwhile, her two children bounced up and down at his

feet, chanting

"Ojii-san, ojii-san, ojii-san!" Daisuke grinned.

"And how are my favorite grandchildren doing?" he asked, kneeling down to their level. Both

children broke out grinning.

"But ojii-san, we're your only grandchildren!" Fujitaka piped up, breaking in to fits of giggles after his

statement. His older brother, Takashi, nodded too, grinning like the child he was. Daisuke's grin

widened also.

"But that's what makes you two my favorite! You're my only grandkids!" He brought them in to a

close and encompassing hug. He could feel both children hugging him back.

"Now run along to the kitchen and greet grandma! She has something special for each of you! Go

along now!" Daisuke shooed them off to the kitchen and watched as both children scampered off.

He turned around to greet the last member of the party.

"Toshi! How have you been?" He moved forward, giving his son- in- law a formal hug, while smiling.

"Good as ever Daisuke. How about you?"

"As good as good can get. Here, let me take your coat." Moving forward, he took Toshi's coat and

turned around to hang it in the hallway closet. Dark chose that exact moment to speak up.

_"So, the family's all here!"_ Daisuke nearly dropped Toshi's jacket in surprise.

_"D-D-D-Dark!"_

"Daisuke? Are you all right?"

_'When did you wake up?"_

_"Awww," _the thief replied, pouting in Daisuke's head. _"I'm not wanted any more?"_

_"It's not that!" _ Daisuke replied. _"it's just, I haven't talked to you in so long, I almost thought_

_ you went and died in some corner in my brain!"_

_"Hey, that's mean!"_ The thief pouted again. _"Fine, be that way! I'll just go to that corner and_

_ die then!"_

_"DARK! I didn't mean it in that way! I was only joking!"_ Daisuke said, hastily trying to fix his

mistake. Dark began to laugh.

_"I was only kidding. Now you might want to start paying attention to Toshi, he looks like he's_

_ hemorrhaging! Heh, hemorrhaging." _ The thief snickered.

"H-huh?" Daisuke started in surprise as Toshi tapped his shoulder once more.

"I was asking if you were all right." Toshi looked at Daisuke inquiringly, his brown eyes reflecting

concern. Daisuke blinked and shook his head.

"No, I'm fine, just a little shaky." Daisuke grinned carelessly at Toshi. "Nothing to worry about, just

getting old, you know. Have all the shakes and things." He grinned again, praying for Toshi not to ask

any more questions. Thankfully for Daisuke, he didn't. Toshi nodded briefly.

"I'll just hang up my own coat then, I don't want to cause you too much trouble Daisuke." Toshi

moved forward, reaching for his coat.

"Ohh, n-n-no, it's no problem at all!" Daisuke switched to high speed mode, sliding the coat on to a

hanger, hanging it up and sliding the closet door shut before his son-in-law had a chance to say

another word. Toshi blinked twice at Daisuke.

"Ummm, okay then…let's just go in to the kitchen then. I want to say hi to Riku." Toshi moved away

from Daisuke, towards the kitchen, leaving the red head alone. He slumped back against the closet

door.

"Whew, close one."

_"Dark, don't you ever go scaring me like that ever again! You could have blown our cover!"_ The thief only snickered evilly.

_"That was too funny!" _Dark's face was one huge mass of teeth, grinning at Daisuke. Daisuke

huffed, ignoring the thief and made his way down the hall way to the kitchen once again. Daisuke

hadn't bothered to tell Toshi about the Niwa family secret, seeing as Dark hadn't left residence in

Daisuke's body and hadn't even turned up in Tori on Tori's fourteenth birthday. He and Riku

speculated that much the same thing would happen on Takashi's and Fujitaka's fourteenth birthdays.

So did, Emiko and Kosuke. Yep, Daisuke's hyper mother and calm father were still alive, now

enjoying their eighty eighth year of life. Both were still young at heart, but moving a tad bit slower

then usual. Lucky for them, they had Towa- chan to take care of them. The vibrant Hikari art work

remained as young and cheerful as ever. Kosuke and Emiko had wanted Towa to live with Daisuke

and Riku after Miyu was born, but Daisuke had convinced them to allow Towa to remain with them,

in order to help them with the house hold chores. Now, in their late eighties, they needed her now

more then ever. The two of them were slowing down, Emiko not able to get as much house work

done and Kosuke falling asleep more often at his books. Not even Daisuke's kids knew much about

Dark. Miyu only knew about some 'myth' or legend surrounding the Niwa's blood line and Tori had

been subject to the same rigorous exercises that Daisuke had been put to when he was younger.

Miyu had refused to do the same with her own children, having personally witnessed what Tori had

had to go through when they were children. She had found no particularly good reason behind the

training, other then the torture it seemed to cause the trainee, so she had refused to allow either

Takashi or Fujitaka to be put through the same thing. Tori had not been too fond of the training

himself, but had told Daisuke he had found it useful when running away things or when playing sports.

The red head arrived in the kitchen in time to see Takashi and Fujitaka receiving their small gifts from

Riku. Both would be getting larger gifts in two days, when Christmas came. Daisuke smiled as he

saw their faces break open in to wide grins when they saw the cute little stuffed animals Riku and he

had carefully chosen and wrapped for them.

"Arigatou obaa-san!" Both grandkids jumped on Riku, hugging her tightly. Daisuke, paused, leaning

against the door. He studied Riku, studied her smiling face. Fine wrinkles creased her face; her

brown eyes sparkled as she hugged her grand children back. Her hair had turned from chocolate

brown to mostly white and gray. She looked exactly how she should. A sixty three year old

grandmother, spending time happily with her grandchildren. Daisuke, looked down. And he didn't.

He looked like the twenty two year father of the children and son of the grandmother He half

suspected that that was the reason why Riku had been so cool with him with the last few months.

Though it was an odd reason, it still was plausible.

"Well, now all we have to do is wait for Tori, then we can eat!" Miyu smiled happily. "But now,

mom, dad, we have to talk, it's been a year, there's so much to catch up on!"


	2. Chapter 2

Hello every! Silverlight Neko here, didn't write something for the first chapter, so I decided that I should write something for this one, and the next chapters too! Anyways, I hope you guys like my fic so far. It might be a tad bit boring, but I think it should get more interesting as the chapters progress. Other characters will be introduced pretty soon, so keep reading! Enjoy this chapter!

Disclaimer: I, unfortunately, do not own DN Angel. Yukiru Sugisaki- Sama does. May I share some? gets down on knees in front of Yukiru Sugisaki and starts to beg Please?

Half an hour later, Tori arrived, laden with gifts for everyone. The usual round of gift exchanges  
ensued, with Dark commenting on every little action.

_"And there he goes handing that nice blue wrapped up gift to the little kid. So what do you think is in it Daisuke?"_ Immediately, Dark changed his voice, an octave higher. _"Well, I don't know Dark, we're going to have to wait until Christmas morning to find that out and-"_

_"SHUT UP DARK!" _Daisuke screamed in his head for the umpteenth time, finally getting the thief to stop his play by play commentary. Dark retreated to the back of Daisuke's mind, snickering every now and then. Daisuke gazed at the ceiling, sighing in relief, his mind suddenly a very quiet place.

From the moment Tori had walked in to the room Dark had given a play by play account of the actions and movements of everyone in the room, throwing comments between himself and "Daisuke," whom he was imitating in a very high pitched squeak. Daisuke glanced over the whole entire room.

Miyu and Tori were talking to each other, catching up with each other. Toshi was playing with his little children while Riku was in the kitchen, putting the finishing touches to all the food. The red hair smiled ever so slightly. He just loved it when all his family could get together and enjoy each others

company. He missed the time when his children had been young and he had played at being Santa Claus for them. He glanced around the room again. Riku had done a wonderful job on the Christmas decorations again this year. Garland wound its way around the stair case railings, decorated with

colorful ornaments and wrapped up with white colored Christmas lights. The Christmas tree sat in a corner of the living room, decorated liberally with colorful ribbons and shining glass ornaments. A golden star graced the very top of the Christmas tree, sparkling in the golden glow of the living room

lights. The fireplace was decorated with two red and white stockings and another bunch of garland. A fire crackled merrily in the fire place while Christmas candles burned on the mantle piece, decorated with more rounds of garland. Daisuke smiled again, moving to help Riku with the last

preparations for the dinner. As they set the last of the dishes upon the table, he looked up and caught Riku's eye. She smiled up at him, a full, bright eyed smile, full of joy and love. A smile, Daisuke had not been graced with for months. At that moment, his heart melted, his face glowing a bright red. He

wanted that moment to stay where it was at forever, freeze so that he could keep it with him forever. He wasn't sure if he would ever get another moment like that ever again.

It was days later when the news came. Niwa Kosuke had died quietly in his sleep. There had been no disease, no sickness. No sign that he was about to die. A quiet death at a ripe old age, that's what

everyone said. Niwa Emiko followed soon after that, her grief over Kosuke's death beyond all consolation. Daisuke watched as they buried his vibrant mother in the ground, the gray tomb stone and wooden coffin showing nothing of the kind of woman that she had been when she was alive.

_"Within two weeks of each other…"_ Dark's voice trailed off quietly. _"I'm going to miss them."_ Daisuke could only nod in agreement.

_"You guys are my favorite Niwa's out of the whole lot of them so far."_ Dark sighed heavily. _"It's always so difficult to let them go."_ Daisuke only continued to stare. Riku came up behind him, taking his hand gently in hers. She looked at him soberly, saying nothing. She knew instinctively,

that Daisuke needed no words; he just needed some one to be there for him. The priest finished his service and then the diggers began to shovel the dirt back over his mother's grave. Daisuke stared, his eyes filling with tears. Riku hugged him tightly.

"I'll be fine," he whispered, hoarsely, leaning against Riku suddenly, as if she had become the only support that he had left in the whole entire world.

"I'll be fine." He repeated softly. The rain continued to fall.

**Two years later**

Daisuke glanced up from the newspaper he was holding in his hands. The red head was seated on the sofa couch, concentrating fiercely on the daily crossword puzzle when he heard Riku come quietly down the stairs. He smiled at her.

"'Afternoon Riku-chan!" He set his newspaper down, moving across the room to her. She flashed him a quick smile, the wrinkles around her mouth bunching up at the slight movement of her lips. Riku had aged substantially over the last two years, her brown hair now completely snow white, her every movement more painstakingly slow. She moved to slip her shoes on.

"I'm going out. I'll see you later." she said shortly to him. Daisuke paused, frowning at her.

"Ummm, may I ask where?" he queried.

"Just out." she said again, swallowing slightly. Daisuke frowned again. _"She's doing it again."_ Annoyance flashed briefly through him. He had had nearly enough of this. Over the last two years, Riku had been acting more and more towards him. Daisuke could see nothing wrong that he had done. He had showered her with as much love and care as he had when they had gotten married all those years ago. As far as he was concerned, nothing had changed.

_"That may be the problem."_ Dark stated from the back of Daisuke's mind. Daisuke started slightly, he had thought the thief was not awake yet.

_"What?"_ Daisuke asked, confused.

_"Ask her yourself. You've been planning to for a while anyways. Why not now?"_ Daisuke, frowned as he studied Riku. She was arranging the contents of her purse carefully, most probably searching for her car keys, Daisuke mused.

"Where, exactly?" Daisuke asked as gently as he possibly could. Riku sighed.

"I'm meeting Miyu and Tori for coffee." Daisuke blinked. His lips thinned out. He hadn't been invited?

"Riku…" She turned to look at him, the look on her face like that of a busy mother being asked why the sky was blue by her rather annoying child.

"Yes?" she asked softly. Daisuke took a deep breathe, sighing. He bit his lip, annoyance flashing across his face.

"Riku, you've been acting different. Lately…" Daisuke bit his lip again, shifting his weight to the other foot. Riku gave him a blank look, looking at him, but yet not quite looking at him, all at the same time. Her eyebrows moved up a fraction of an inch, prodding him to continue.

"Lately, you've just been ignoring me. No, scrap that, it's been going on for nearly a year, two even, I think. Or you've just been treating me like I'm just some stranger. And all those outings of yours. I'm not against them, but…" Daisuke run a hand through his still flaming red hair in frustration.

"You've been spending less and less time with me. It's like we're just distant room mates or something now." Daisuke looked at Riku, his eyes imploring her.

"Please, tell me what I'm doing wrong? What's changed? What's going on? You hardly ever talk to me anymore. Tell me, what's wrong?" Riku continued staring at him, her expression the same distant blank look she had always worn when she was faced with something she was uncomfortable in dealing with.

"Riku?" A tear rolled down her cheek. Daisuke moved like lightening across the room, moving to embrace Riku, hold her close. But she looked up at him and something in her brown eyes stopped him. He froze in mid- stride, two steps away from her.

"Riku…" She swallowed again.

"It's just that…" She sniffed.

"It's not all you, it's me also." Her hand moved to her face, to wipe away the tears that were coming in a steady stream now. Daisuke stood there, frozen. He wanted to hug her, to hold her close, to comfort her and wipe away the tears. But he prevented himself from doing so. It looked like Riku needed her space now.

"What is it?" Daisuke prodded her gently. Suddenly, she turned to face him completely. Daisuke's widened in slight surprise. _"Whaaa…?"_

"Look at you! Then look at me! What do you see?" Daisuke stared at her, uncomprehending. She sighed, closing her eyes. The tears continued to fall.

"Daisuke, we're sixty-five, the both of us. And I look like I'm sixty- five. But you…" She looked at him, her face unreadable. "You don't look that way…" She trailed off looking blankly at him. Daisuke looked back, still not comprehending what was going on. Riku half- growled, half- sighed in frustration.

"Daisuke, you haven't aged a day since we got married! You're still as young and handsome as the day we got married! And here I am, looking like a wrinkled old pear, feeling my age catching up to me. My hair is white, I, move slower then I used to and I get exhausted more easily. Then I look

over at you, your skin's unwrinkled, your hair is the same color that it's been since middle school, you can still prance around like a ten year old, jump off walls like you did when you were still stealing art. Young girls flirt with you at the market, people think that I'm your mother, not your wife and you

haven't even realized all of this at all!" Riku stopped short, taking in a deep breath to calm herself. Daisuke's mouth worked up and down, like a fish on land, gasping for air. His mind had reached a blank. He didn't know what to see. So he opted for staring at Riku in complete confusion.

'Oh Daisuke! Can't you see? I'm jealous! And I can't handle this! I just wanted to grow old and die a happy life, see my children grow up. Have grand kids of my own. Have a nice little house and bake cookies for the kids every Christmas. I've been able to do all that. But the one thing I haven't been

able to do, is grow old with you. I don't know who has left who behind? Me, leaving you behind, or you leaving me behind. Oh Daisuke, it pains me every time I see you. You looking so young and perfect and me so old and ugly. It pains me that I can't give you the same thing as you've given me

and still can. I just can't handle it. It hurts me so badly. And I hardly think they are good reasons at all, but they were the only reasons that I could find about the way I feel right now. Oh, Daisuke, I love you, but I can't take this any more." Riku turned quickly to leave, reaching for the front door knob. Daisuke caught her hand, pulling her back in to a tight embrace.

"Riku, I love you so much. And I'm so sorry that I've caused you so much pain." He sobbed. "I don't know what I can do to fix this. I don't know why I stay like this." He pulled back, holding Riku by her shoulders. "But I promise you that I will find out why. Then maybe I can fix it. Somehow…"

They stared at each other for a long time. Daisuke's mind worked furiously. He didn't know what else he could say. Riku was the first to move.

"No." She said finally, moving gently out of Daisuke's grasp.

'No." She repeated. "It's alright. This aging thing is something that you can't fix." She moved to the front door of the house, opening it.

"You will age, when you will." She smiled sadly at Daisuke. "I can't change things, but I should accept them for what they are. You still love me; I still love you that should be good enough…but this is something I have to work out for myself. It's selfish really." Riku shifted her weight slightly. "They

way I'm feeling. You've done nothing wrong, just stayed incredibly young, for no apparent reason. I just need to work this out for myself." She smiled sadly at him again, before moving out the door and closing it softly behind her. Daisuke stood there, as if frozen in ice. He didn't know what to think, his mind was frozen, he couldn't think. _"Riku.."_

The youse goes everyone. The end of the chapter for you. I'm probably going to keep this up for a while, turning out chapters. It's winter break and I want to get lots of stories done before the end. And also many other things!


	3. Chapter 3

Here you go my readers, chapter three!

Disclaimer: I don't sniff own sniff DN Angel, or any of the sniff things associated with it. sniff Just the stuff sniff that I bought sniff and this story line sniff Waaaaaahhhhh! starts to cry in corner Stop making me do this!

* * *

The phone rang. Its shrill tone pierced the deathly quiet of the house. Niwa Daisuke sat still, 

oblivious to the call of the phone. He blinked slowly, slumped on to the couch of his pristine living

room, staring in to nothing. The phone rang a second time. The incessant noise slowly brought the red

head out of his stupor. He turned his dazed gaze to the phone. It rang again. With the speed of a

running turtle, Daisuke moved from his spot, reached for the phone and managed to answer it before

the answering machine picked up the phone.

"Moshi moshi?" Daisuke managed to force an awkward note of cheerfulness in to his voice.

"Konnichiwa Daisuke-kun!" A cheerful voice sounded from the other end of the line. Daisuke felt a

sudden insane urge to swear at the owner of the voice and hang up on them. _"She is the LAST_

_ person I need to talk to right now."_ Somewhere from the back of Daisuke's mind, Dark snorted.

"Aa, Konnichiwa…Risa-chan."

"Ogenki desu ka?" Her cheerful tone was biting in to the red heads bleak mood.

"Hai…genki desu." He blinked slowly, deciding to let the twin of his wife speak first.

"Ano, is Riku-chan there?"

"Iie," Daisuke replied tiredly. "She's not here right now." Daisuke scrubbed at his eyes, rubbing the

slight itch out of them. He glanced at the living room clock, noting that it was four in the afternoon.

_"And todays' date is…" _Daisuke glanced quickly about the room, searching for the animal themed

calendar that Riku usually hung up by the phone so that appointments and dates could be scheduled

more easily. He couldn't find it.

"Daisuke-kun?" Risa's high pitched voice brought him back to the conversation. "Daisuke- kun,

daijobou ka?" The red head blinked, releasing that his sister- in- law had been speaking to him the

entire time.

"Hai, hai hai, daijobou." He quickly amended. "I was just trying to find out today's date." He glanced

around the room. Apparently Riku had confiscated the calendar from the living room.

"Ano, today's date is…" Risa's voice trailed off. "April the fourteenth!" Daisuke could almost hear

the huge grin she probably had plastered on to her face at that moment. He rolled his eyes. She was

way too cheerful for her own good sometimes.

"Ah, arigatou." He replied shortly.

"Etto, Daisuke- kun. Where is Riku-chan?" Daisuke blinked again.

"She went out to meet Tori and Miyu for coffee." He decided the truth was better as opposed to

fibbing about Riku's where abouts. There was a pause. The red head fiddled with the phone cord,

staring blankly out the window. He looked anything but a sixty-five year old talking on the phone with

his sister- in- law. More like a teenager receiving a lecture over the phone from his mother about

staying out of trouble. He blinked again.

"Shouldn't you be with them also?" It was Daisuke's turn to pause. He swallowed uncomfortably,

shifting in to a sitting position from where he had sprawled himself untidily on to the couch.

"Heh, I know." Daisuke replied, faking the light tone. "But I had some stuff that I had to do and the

kids haven't talked to Riku on their own for some time now. I except they're ranting about how

weird I am and the odd habits that I have right now that they hate about me. Oh and probably about

Dark too." Daisuke forced a short laugh and then went silent.

"…alright, if you say so." He glared at the phone in his hand, then stuck his tongue out in the general

direction of where he thought Risa might be.

"Anyways, tell Riku-chan that I called, I want to talk to her about that dinner that we were planning

on having together. You know we haven't had a chance to talk to each other in such a long time, and

I just want to catch up with Riku on things." Daisuke nodded absently, then realized that Risa

couldn't see him.

"Hai. Sure, I'll do that." He twiddled the phone cord in his fingers some more, again deciding to let

Risa break the silence on her own.

"Anyways, ja matte ne. And tell Tori and Miyu I love them when you get to see them. Ja!"

"Ja. I will." With that, Daisuke hung up the phone quickly, deciding he didn't want to hear anything

else that she had to say. Boy. When had he become so cynical? And what was so special about

April the fourteenth? There was something about today that was special some how, but Daisuke was

forgetting what it was. The red head blinked again. Sighing, he pushed himself off of the couch and

paced a couple of agitated circles around the living room before deciding to search the house for the

calendar. He was sure that the calendar would give him all the answers that he needed. With a

'humph' at the bird staring at him curiously through the Niwa's living room window, Daisuke started

off with his search. It took him about fifteen minutes to find the calendar stashed away under the bed

in his and Riku's bedroom. _"Why would she hide it under the bed?"_ Daisuke mused, dusting

himself off as he got up from the floor. He began flipping through the months of the calendar, looking

for April. When he found April, he also found the reason why Riku had probably hidden the

calendar. Written in Riku's precise print was, _"Coffee with Tori and Miyu- 1:00."_ With a slight

pang in his heart, Daisuke looked for anything else that was written in the small box. Nothing. Glaring

slightly, Daisuke returned the calendar back to its hiding spot musing whether or not it was just his

imagination and whether April the fourteenth really had any special significance to it. The red head

frowned, making his way from his and Riku's bedroom to his office.

_"Baka."_ Dark's voice sounded from the back of his head. Daisuke sighed.

_"You're awake. And why am I a baka?"_ Dark smirked.

_"How could you forget the 45th anniversary of your lover boy's death?"_ Daisuke froze.

_"Na- na- nani?"_ He stuttered, blushing slightly. Darks smirk grew wider until it was the size of the

Cheshire cats grin.

_"Tsk tsk tsk Daisuke. And you were supposed to be his _"very"_ good friend."_ Dark burst out

laughing. Daisuke was blushing full force now. The red head swallowed, glaring furiously at Dark.

_"Shut up!"_ Daisuke was both embarrassed that he had forgotten the anniversary of his best friend's

death, Hiwatari Satoshi and also about what Dark was implying to him.

_"I'll go to the cemetery right away." _Daisuke hurried down the stairs. Dark smirked in his mind.

_"About time you did. You haven't been there since last year. And to think," _Dark sniffed

delicately. _"You used to visit his grave nearly every week."_ The thief sniffed again dramatically.

_"He must be soooo disappointed."_ Daisuke bit his lip, more then a little annoyed.

_"Be quiet! That was the mourning period you know. He _was_ my best friend! How could I not_

_ be sad? I wanted to stay near him, at least until I was able to move on."_ Daisuke grabbed his

coat off its hook, shoving his arms in to it. He paused at the front door, before moving back to the

living room.

_"I should probably leave a note for Riku. She might wonder where I am."_ Dark smirked again.

"_Of _course_ he was your _VERY _good friend!"_ The thief's smirk widened yet again.

_"Stop making fun of me!" _Daisuke pouted like a child, while scribbling out a quick note for Riku.

_"I am visiting Satoshi's grave. Risa called, she said she wants to talk about the dinner you_

_ guys might be having. I'll be back at—"_ Daisuke paused, considering his last sentence. When

_would_ he be back? He bit his lip again, frowning. Then he scribbled out the last portion so that it

wasn't readable. He moved to put the note where Riku could see it, but paused yet again. Daisuke

turned, snatching another scrap piece of paper off of the phone table and rewrote his note with out

the last sentence. He scrunched the original in to a ball and threw it bodily in to the trash. He then

moved back to the front door, locking the door as he walked out. A light spring wind played with

Daisuke's hair as he stood on his front door step, considering whether to drive or take the sub way.

After a seconds worth of thinking, Daisuke moved off in the direction of the nearest bus stop,

deciding he wanted to take the sub way. He stood quietly at the bus stop, the late afternoon sunshine

chasing shadows on the ground before him. He had never really liked cars all that much. The trees

swayed pleasantly in the warm sunshine as the wind danced around the tree branches, the leaves still

in tight buds on the tree branches. Daisuke took a calming breath, basking in the peace and quiet of

the Sunday afternoon. The bus to the downtown sector pulled up and Daisuke hopped on, throwing

his fair in to the coin slots. The bus driver flashed him a warm smile before pulling away from the bus

stop. When Dark spoke again, it was with a subdued tone.

_"Are you trying to hide stuff from Riku now? I mean, last time you would have left at least_

_ some kind of approximate time or something at least."_ Daisuke sighed, running a hand through

his flaming red hair. He watched as the streets of Azumano flashed past him. _"I should get flowers_

_ for Satoshi-kun's grave…" _Daisuke mused.

_"Daaiiisssuuukkkeee!"_ The red head sighed again, closing his tired eyes. He rested his forehead

against the window of the bus, staring at the scenes that passed him by, putting off answering Dark

for a while. Families were out for walks on the streets of Azumano, but the sight that pained him the

most were the happy couples that threaded their way through the street markets, chatting together

happily.

_"It's just what she said to me."_ Daisuke said, answering Dark finally. Dark smiled a sad little smile.

_"What she said to you huh? But you have to understand where she's coming from. She's_

_ afraid that she's not worthy of your love any more because of the way she looks."_ Daisuke

pulled at the bell for his stop, blanching at Darks comment.

_"That's preposterous! I'll love her no matter what! I kind of get her situation. But I won't lie_

_to you; it's difficult to understand why she feels that way. I'm not in the same situation as her._

_ In fact, I'm the cause of her distress."_ Daisuke smiled sadly out the bus window. _"I love her_

_ Dark. I don't want to hurt her, but…"_ Daisuke sighed, running his hand through his ruby locks.

"_But how do I stop the hurt? How, when it is my being with her that hurts her? Yet if I am_

_ gone, I think that will hurt her also."_ The red head sighed heavily. Dark stayed silent, musing over

what Daisuke had just said. The bus pulled up to Daisuke's stop and he got off of the bus, throwing a

quick "thanks" to the bus driver. He walked to the Tsuki no Hana Flower Shop, the one he always

went to, to get Satoshi's flowers. He stepped in to the quaint little shop, breathing in the heavy scent

of the flowers that perfumed the air. He flashed a smile at the girl at the counter, which she returned

shyly. Daisuke moved to the back of the store, browsing through the display of flowers that the shop

had.

_"So what are you buying for the creep?"_ Dark asked, changing the subject. Daisuke glared

mentally at Dark.

_"YOU should know. After all you've been with me all the times I went to buy flowers for_

_ Satoshi."_ Daisuke frowned, _"where ARE the flowers?"_

"_I just thought that you might want to make a change of purchase. You buy the same thing_

_ each year." _Daisuke ignored the thief, continuing his search of the flower shop. The red head spun a

full circle once on the spot before spotting the flower he was looking for sitting in a far off corner of

the shop. Quickly, Daisuke made his way over to the display. He glanced at his watch. The watch

read fifteen to five. He still had a lot of time left in the day. The redhead examined each flower

carefully, making sure that none of the heads were damaged and that each flower was in near perfect

condition.

_"Making sure everything is perfect for your LOVER boy?" _Dark teased. He swiftly ducked a

mental punch that Daisuke directed towards him. _"What was that for?"_ The purple haired thief

growled indignantly.

_"You make it sound like I'm cheating on Riku or something like that."_ The red head was

blushing again. He gathered the six flowers that he had chosen and moved towards the check out

counter.

_"Boy, you are STILL as easy to tease as when you were fourteen!"_ Dark crowed, laughing

jovially. Daisuke cringed at the sound, not entirely sure why. It might have been because he thought

the whole entire world should surely be hearing this noise, considering how loud Dark was being. He

set the six flowers on the counter, taking out his wallet out to pay for them. The girl smiled at him

again, heart shaped face framed by golden blonde hair blushing slightly. Daisuke smiled back. The girl

blushed all out. She fixed her bright brown eyes on the task before her, not daring to look up at

Daisuke. The red head quirked his eyebrow slightly at her.

_"Ooohhh, looks like she's got the hots for you!" _Dark crowed again. Daisuke aimed another

mental slap for Dark, but missed.

"These are nice flowers." The girl's quiet voice broke through Dark and Daisuke's conversation.

"Huh what?" Daisuke's head shot up and he looked at the girl. The girl blushed harder. "Sorry, I was

out of it. What did you say?" Daisuke grinned in embarrassment.

"The flowers, they're nice." She picked one up to examine it. "Ice blue carnations." Daisuke nodded

in affirmation.

"It's hard to come by in other flower shops. Yours is the only one that sells them." The blonde girl

smiled at him shyly again. She gently tied the six flowers together with a red ribbon and slipped them

in to a round piece of plastic before handing them over to Daisuke.

"1295 yen please." Daisuke handed her his credit card. Once the transaction was completed,

Daisuke took the flowers. The girl smiled at him again. He smiled back.

"Hope whoever gets the flowers likes them. Thank-you for coming." He nodded to the girl before

exiting the shop.

_"She probably thought you were hot!"_ Dark grinned from the back of Daisuke's mind.

_"Do you want a painful death Dark? If not, I suggest you CAN it!"_ Daisuke moved in the

general direction of the subway station, weaving around street vendors and the throngs of people

who were out and about enjoying the early Sunday evening.

_"I can't die, not without taking you!"_ The thief smirked at Daisuke again. _"But you might want_

_ to though, to join your lover boy in the after life!"_ Dark sighed and then fainted dramatically.

_"Oh the tragedy! The romance! After long years apart, one lover finally can bear the pain no_

_ longer and throws themselves over a cliff so that they can join their love in the after life."_

_"That's not funny Dark."_ Daisuke muttered, trying his best not to blush. He moved in to the

subway tunnel, paying quickly for his fare before standing on the platform to wait for the train.

_"The TRADEGY!"_ Dark had his hand thrown over his eyes, his body lying prostrate on an imaginary

chair and was sobbing theatrically. Daisuke glared. _"The PAIN!"_

_"Dark…"_ Daisuke glared again at Dark in warning.

_"Of being separated from the one that you LOVE!"_ Dark was now on the floor, beating his limbs

about in a childish manner and sobbing wildly. Daisuke threw a mental punch at Dark. The blow

landed squarely on the thief's head and silenced reigned in Daisuke's head. For only a couple

seconds.

_"Dai-chan! Why did you do that? It hurts! Itte itte!" _Dark held his hands over his head and

sobbed in a corner of Daisuke's mind, pouting the whole entire time.

_"Grow up Dark. If you don't stop now, there's more where that came from."_ The train pulled

up to the platform. Daisuke let the crowds of Sunday shoppers and whatnots step off first before

boarding the train himself.

_"Fine, fine, fine. Jeez, so mean now a days. What happened to nice Daisuke?"_

_"He got thrown over a cliff to join his true love in the after life?" _ Daisuke offered as he

searched for a seat. Finding none, Daisuke opted for standing by the train door. He heard humming

and whistling from the purple haired thief for most of the trip but nothing other then that. The only

times the thief did speak was to comment on two hot looking "chicks." Daisuke had given the thief a

mental thump and gone back to his musings about nothing. About twenty minutes later, Daisuke

arrived at the stop he wanted and got off. He wove his way through the crowded train station and out

on to the moderately crowded sidewalks of downtown Azumano. Daisuke moved quickly away from

the crowds and soon entered the quiet sanctuary of the cemetery. Spring wind played gently with

Daisuke's hair. It danced through the grass and through the budding branches of the many trees that

dotted the hills of the cemetery. The already green grass grew in thick bunches, muffling the sound of

Daisuke's steps. He moved swiftly, already having memorized the location of his friend's gravestone

after countless visits. He arrived at the top of the highest hill, panting slightly. It overlooked all of

Azumano and some of the surrounding countryside. The red head paused, taking in the view before

him. To his left, the sea sparkled bright as a jewel. The sun lowered its golden body in to the water,

almost as if it were begging the sea to allow it in to its watery embrace while waiting for the dawn of a

new day. In front of him, Azumano sprawled, cars crawling along the streets, the size of toy cars

from Daisuke's vantage point, the pedestrians looked nothing more then the size of ants. For a

moment, Daisuke felt his whole entire being lift off the ground, his heart straining for flight. _"Like the_

_ gulls…"_ Daisuke turned his gaze towards the wheeling white bodies, high in the deep blue sky, now

turning to crimson shades of red and brilliant shades of yellow and orange.

_"We could go flying later on tonight?"_ Dark whispered from the back of his mind. Daisuke

nodded absently. Too bad he hadn't brought his paints with him. The sunset was just right today for a

painting. He gazed one last time at the scene before him before turning around and moving towards

Satoshi's gravestone. It was a simple affair, a square of black granite marble worn away by the

hands of time. Satoshi had insisted that his head stone be left unmarked, giving no reason as to why

he wanted it that way. Daisuke had managed to convince Satoshi to give permission for at least his

name to be on his marker. The blue haired man had finally complied. So the only way to know the

age at when Satoshi had died at would be to have known him personally, or to have done some sort

of investigation in to Satoshi's life. Daisuke smiled sadly.

"Hey ya there Satoshi-kun." Daisuke leaned down and set the flowers on to his friend's gravestone.

Satoshi had died when he had turned twenty, the curse of the Hikari having finally caught up to him.

Doctors didn't know how he had died or why. It was one of those "medical" mysteries. A perfectly

healthy man, in the prime of his youth, dies when he turns twenty. Why? Medical science did not

have the answer. But Daisuke had known why. Although the red head had not said as much. He had

attended Satoshi's funeral along with his parents, his father and grandfather more willing to attend

then his mother. The funeral had not been crowded, in fact, it had been nearly empty. Hiwatari Kei

had stayed for only a little bit before leaving. Riku and Risa had attended along with Takeshi's father,

Captain Saehara. Some of the members of the police force had been there, but Satoshi had had little

to no blood relatives and almost no friends. Daisuke had been the only one to stay through out the

whole funeral and also afterwards. Daisuke smiled sadly again and sat down near the headstone. He

had long since stopped "talking" to Satoshi. The red head now sat in comfortable silences by his

friend's head stone, contemplating the world and occasionally saying some things to his friend about

the weather or some major world events. This time though, Daisuke poured out his heart. Dark

disappeared, having decided that it was best that he leave Daisuke alone. The red head ranted about

all his current problems to "Satoshi," but mostly about his problems that he was having with Riku.

Daisuke didn't know how long he vented for, but during the whole entire time, not a living soul had

appeared. The sun had set by the time he was finished, the lights of Azumano slowly flickering to life.

The night creatures the town harbored during the day were slowly beginning to stir. Daisuke imagined

him going back in to the town, back in to the noise and chaos that made up life in a town. Back on to

the subway, back on to the bus, back home…to Riku. The thought did not stir any feelings of joy

and excitement with in his heart. He no more felt the kind of love he had had for Riku all those years

ago when they had first married. No longer were there the skips in the heart beat or the dropping of

the stomach as they laid eyes on each other. No longer did he long to hold Riku in his arms and

whisper words of comfort to her at night when she was troubled, or even to just feel her in his arms.

There was nothing there any more, not where his love for Riku should have been. All the light and joy

of love had been replaced, had been taken away from him. To be replaced with…nothing. He stared

out in to the dark night. Daisuke turned his gaze, eyes now full of tears to look upon his friend's

headstone.

"I just want to stay here. Forever." He whispered, words lost to the darkness around him.

Swallowed by the oncoming night. Daisuke began to cry.

* * *

Urrgggghh. The horrible chapter. I couldn't seem to get it to work. The flower shop conversation, thebus conversation, the subway conversation and the ending I had such trouble with. Urrrgggghhhh, hoped it turned out okay. I had to revise it so many times. Anyways, please read and review, I want to know what you guys think of this chapter. Also, this will probably be the last update for winter break, I shall try to keep writing, but there is always school in the way. Damn school! shakes fist at school And it doesn't help that I'm behind in units…trails off yeah, most of you wouldn't understand. The school I go to has a different way of schooling. It takes much to explain, so I shan't be saying anything, it's kinda confusing. 

The story seems to be angsty neh? I couldn't really help it, and I'm sorry if I'm putting our poor Dai-chan through needless amount of misery! I truly am! And is 12.95 too much for flowers? If they're are ice blue carnations then NO! Because these are special flowers! And special flowers deserve special prices! As decreed by the Silverlight Neko of this universe! MWHAHAHAHA!


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